Tacking and barring machine



May 12, 1925. 1,537,155

E. B. ALLEN TACKI'N'G- AND EARRING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 19:23 3 Sheets-Sheet J ATTORNEY May I2,- 1925.

E. B. ALLEN TACKING AND EARRING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1923 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORNEY Ea B. ALLEN TACKIN G AND EARRING MACHINE May 12, 1925 1,537,155

Filed Jan. 20, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 &4 ATTORNEY Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,537,155 PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD B. ALLEN, OF NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF ELIZABETH,-NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Application filed January 20, 1923. Serial No. 613,828.

I! '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWAPD B. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newtown, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tacking and Barring Machines, of which the following-is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to that class of sewing machines used for tacking and barring. Such machines usually comprise stitchforming mechanism, a work-clamp and a feed-cam and connections for relatively moving the, stitch-forming mechanism and work-clamp to osition the stitches in the desired group formation. It is usual to provide two treadles for operating the machine; one of thetreadles being connected to open the work-clamp and the other to shift the stop-motion lever to running position. It is customary to use these machines for tacking the ends of pocket openings, for barring buttonholes and for reinforcing the fabric in many other parts of garments where it is likely to tear.

The work of many prior machines of this class, particularly machines used for barring buttonholes, has been criticized because of the tendency of the buttonhole slit to gape at the. barred end. Attempts have been made in other machines to overcome this tendency by providing the machine with a work-clamp having means for contracting it to full-in or compact the work toward the line of the buttonhole-slit prior to the barring operation. So far as I am aware, however, clamp-contracting devices heretofore used have either required a comparatively complicated and expensive automatically acting mechanism for their operation, or have required to be operated by a special movement of the operators hand, thus slow.- ing up production.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tacking and barring .machine with clamp-contracting means of simple and inexpensive construction which may be, operated without requiring special motions of the operators hand.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of simple construction which will handle heavy work or will sew a .tack 'or bar at a considerable distance from the edge of the work.

To the attainment of the ends in view a work-clamp having an overhanging arm and deep throat is provided. At the free or forward end of the work-clamp are mounted a pair of laterally shiftable clamping feet. A vertically sliding bar having oppositely inclined surfaces is preferably provided in the head at the end of the overhangingarm of the work-clamp for moving the feet together to full-in the work. This bar is connected to be operated by movement of the stopmotion treadle in starting the machine, thus obviating the necessity of special motions on the part of the operator to contract the clamp and also obviating the necessity of employing more complicated and costly automatic mechanism for contracting the clamp. Preferably, the sliding bar referred to is operated by means of a bellerank-lever fulcrumed onthe overhanging work-clamp arm and connected by a link to an extension of the usual treadle-operated lever of ma-. chines of this class which shifts the stopmotion lever to running position. The machine is also equipped with the usual treadlecontrolled clamp-lifting mechanism which raises the clam ing feet for insertion and removal of wor r.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tacking and barring machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary reverse side elevation of the machine. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the work-clamp with the clamping feet spread. Fig. dis a similar view with the clamping feet, contracted to compact the work. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5--5, Fig. 3. -Fig. 6 is a disassembled perspective view of the work-clamping elements and Fig. 7 is a plan view of a sample of work done by the machine.

For the purposes of the present disclosure the invention is embodied in a machine of the well known Singer button sewer or Class 68 type represented, for'example, in the United States patents to Barron. No. 1.093.241. of April 14, 1914. and No. 1,194.- 588, of Aug. 15, 1916. Machines of this type are commonly constructed with a bed I 1, standard 2, overhanging bracket-arm 3 and head 4 in which is journaled the re ciprocating needle-bar 5 carrying the needle 6 which cooperates with the usual looptaker beneath the bed 1 to form stitches. The main driving shaft ofthe machine car- IOU ries at its rear end the tight and loose pulleys 7 and 8 over which runs a belt controlled by the usual belt-shipper 9 carried by the stop-motion lever 10 fulcrumed at 11 and forming a {part of the usual stopmotion device more fully represented in the first-mentioned Barron patent. .Machines of this type also commonly embody a pattern cam or feed-wheel 12 having grooves 13 and 14 in its inner and outer faces, respectively. The inner groove 13 customarily actuates a suitable follower-lever 15 which. throughthe usual connections imparts lonand has mounted adjacent'its rearward end the base 19 of the overhanging clamp-arm 2O terminating in a head 21 closely adjacent the head 4 of the sewing machine frame. The head 21 of the upper clamp-arm is formed in its front face with a deep vertical channel or slideway 22 for the vertical r clamp-contracting bar 23 having at its lower end the laterally extended wings 24 formed with clamp-contracting inclined surfaces 25 and parallel holding surfaces 26, 26'.

The clamp-contracting and holding surfaces, 25 and 26, 26 are engaged by the roller pins 27 mounted on the shanks 28 of the upper work-clamping feet .29 which are notched at 30 to expose the section of the work to receive the tackingv or barring stitches. The shanks 28 of the clamping feet are pivotally mounted on the parallel fulcrum pins 31 fixed to short transverse arms 32 projecting laterally from a second vertical slide-bar 33 parallel to the slide-bar 23 and guided in the slideway 34 in the head 21. Cross-bars 35. are screwed ,to the head 21 to retain the slide-bars 23 and 33 in their respective ways and the head 21 is cut away at 36, 36, Fig. 6, intermediate the cross-bars 35 to afford clearance for the short transover the usual horizontal clamp-lifting arm 40 carried at the lower end of the clamplifting bar 41 which is mounted in the head 4 parallel to the needle-bar 5 and at its upper end is connected to be operated by the usual treadle-controlled clamp-lifting lever 42. One of the lateral arms 32 of the slide-bar 33 is formed with an upward extension 43 which is yieldingly presseddownwardly, to hold the feet 29 in clamping engagement with the work, by means of a relatively strong leaf-spring 44 hearing at its rear end upon the stud-screw 45. The pressure of the spring 44 may be adjusted by turning the screw 46 which bears upon the spring 44 between the ends of the latter. The slidebar 33 also preferably has secured to its lower end a gauge member .47 having at its lower end a very thin fin 48 terminating at its front end close to the sewing point but not within the range of action of the needle. The fin 48 has a lower horizontal edge which is disposed slightly below the plane of the lower oppositely serrated surfaces 49,

Fig. 3, of the, clamping feet so as to slightly enter abuttonhole or other slit in the work and assist the operator in properly positioning and alining the work.

The clamp-contracting slide-bar 23 is recessed at its upper end at 50 to admit the lateral pin 51 fixed to the horizontal arm 52 of a bellcrank-lever fulcrumed at 53 to a bracket 53 fixed to the overhanging clamp.- arm 20. The downwardly extending arm 54 of the bellcrank-lever is loosely entered by the forward end of a link or push-rod .55 having a collar 56 fixed thereto adjacent the arm 54. A relatively weak coil spring 57 is secured at one end to the arm 54 and at its opposite end to the bracket 58 which supports the usual clamp-shifting levers 15 and 17. This spring tends to return the bellcrank-lever and clamp-contracting slide-bar to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

At its rearward end the rod or link loosely enters an aperture in an arm 59 which is extended laterally and downwardly from the usual treadle operated bell-cranklever 60 which presses at 61 against the stop-motion lever 10 to shift the latter to dotted line or running position, Fig. l. A pair of collars 62 are fixed to the rod- 55 on opposite sides of the arm 59. I

When the operator depresses the clamp- .lifting treadle, the lever 42 is rocked to elevate the slide-b ar41 which, in turn, lifts the slide-bar 33 and upper clamping-feet 29- against the pressure of the strong leaf spring 44. As soon as the feet 29.are lifted clear of the work they are separated or spread by the spring 37 preparatory to engaging a new piece of work in their separated positions, Fig. 3. After the work has been located in the work-clamp, with the feet 29 in spread position, Fig. 3, theoperator depresses the stop-motion operating treadle and thereby rocks the bellcrank-lever 60 to shift the stop-motion lever to dotted line or running position, Fig. 1. This motion of the lever 60 imparts a forward impulse to the link or push-rod 55 which rocks the bellcrank-lever 52, 5a and thus-lifts the clampcontracting slide-bar 23 to carry its oppositely inclined surfaces 25 into engagement with the roller-pins 27 and shift the latter inwardly to relatively approach the clamping feet 29 and thereby compact or full-in the work or, in buttonhole finishing, crowd the edges of the buttonhole close together so that the will not gape after the bar has been sewed The distance between the parallel holding surfaces '26 is such that they press rather tightly against the roller-pins 27 and cause the slide-bar 23 to remain in elevated position, as shown in Fig. 4, during the sewing operation; the spring 57 being too weak to overcome the frictional resistance of the surfaces 26' and roller-pins 27.

When the sewing is completed and the operator elevates the slide-bar 33, to remove the work, the roller-pins 27 are forcibly carried above the holding surfaces 26 thereupon relieving the friction between such pins and surfaces and permitting the bar 23 to drop to the position shown in Fig. 3 under.

the influence of the spring 57'.

WVhen the machine is used say forbarring buttonholes, the edges of the slit Z) are pressed tightly together by the relative approach of the feet 29 and the needle lays a series of long stitches a back and forth across the end of the slit 6. The needle then lays a series of short stitches 0 in zigzag arrangement covering the long stitches a and bind ing down the gimp d. and the ends of the overseaming threads 6. WVhen the work is removed from the machine the slit 6 will not gape and the work presents a neatly finished appearance.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is- 1. A tacking and barring machine having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a stop-motion device, manually operated means for throwing the stop-motion device to running position, a cont-ractible workelamp adapted to full in the work adjacent the sewing point, and means connected to be operated by the manually operated means for throwing the stop-motion device to running position, for contracting the workclamp prior to sewing.

2. A tacking and barring-machine having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a stop-motion device for controlling its period of action, manually operated means for operating the stop-motion device to start the machine, a work-clamp having clamping elements which are relatively movable laterally while in engagement with the work to compact the latter, means for relatively moving the stitch-forming mechanism and work-clamp to sew a group of stitches, means for, opening the work-clamp for removal and insertion of work, and means connected to be operated by the manually controlled stop-motion operating means, for relatively approaching the clamping elements to compact the work prior to sewing.

3. In a tacking and barring machine, stich-forming mechanism, a work-clamp, a lever mounted on said work-clamp and con nections for contracting the clamp to fullinthe work, a feed-wheel and connections for moving the work-clamp to position the stitches, a stop-motion device for controlling the period of operation of the stitchforming mechanism, manually operated means for throwing said stop-motion device to running position, and a connection between said means and said lever for operating the clamp-contracting connections.

4. In a sewing machine work-clamp, a lower clamp-element, an upper clamp-arm in the form of a gooseneck rigidly associated with said lower clamp-element, relatively movable clamping feet carried by said gooseneck at the free end of the latter and means for relatively approaching said clamping feet to compact the work.

5. In a sewing machine work-clamp, a lowerclamp-supporting bar, a lower clampplate carried at one end of said bar, an upper clamp-arm in the form of a gooseneck rigidly mounted adjacent the other end of said lower bar, said 'gooseneck terminating in a head, a slide-bar mounted in said head, laterally movable clamping feet carried by said slide-bar, and means for lifting and lowering said slide-bar and for relatively approaching said clamping feet while in engagement with the work.

i 6. In a sewing'machine work-clamp, a lower clamp-element, an upper clamp-arm overhanging said lower clamp-element and defining therewith a work-receiving throat, .a slide-bar mountedyon-said upper clamparm, clamping feet pivotally carried by said slide-bar, means for moving said slide-- bar to open and close the clamp, and means for relatively approaching said clamping feet about their pivots while in engagement with the work to compactthe latter.

7. In a sewing machine work-clamp, a. lower clamp-plate, upperclamping feet, a carrier on, which said clamplng feet are pivoted for movement toward and away from each other, an armrigidly associated with and overhanging said lower elampplate, said carrier being movably carried at the free end of said arm and adapted to shift the clamping feet toward and away from the lower clamp-plate, means for moving said carrier to open and close the Workclamp, and means carried by said arm and momble independently of said last-mentioned means for relatively approaching the clamping feet While in engagement with the work to full in the latter. I

8. In a sewing machine work clamp, a

lower clamp-plate, an arm overhanging and rigidly associated with said clamp-plate, a carrier mounted on said arm for movement toward and away from the 1ower clampplate, upper clamping members mounted on said carrier for Work fullin'g movements, and a clamp contractor movably carried by said arm and having oppositely inclined surfaces adapted to engage said upper clamping members to move them toward each other while in engagement with the work.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EDWARD .B. ALLEN. 

